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FEATURED INITIATIVE WHAT WILL THEY LEARN?

What Will They Learn?

The search for the right college can be overwhelming. Unfortunately, most rankings don’t tell you what matters most: what students are learning. This resource does tell you, by grading colleges and universities on their core requirements in seven areas of knowledge.
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DEFENDINGAcademic Freedom
FEATURED INITIATIVE CAMPUS FREEDOM INITIATIVE

Campus Freedom Initiative™

Free expression is the necessary precondition for the unfettered search for truth on the college campus. Learn how to build a culture of free expression at your institution through ACTA’s Campus Freedom Initiative™.
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ENSURINGAccountability
FEATURED INITIATIVE HOW COLLEGES SPEND MONEY

How Colleges Spend Money

ACTA’s one-of-a-kind higher education financial analysis tool, HowCollegesSpendMoney.com, makes it possible for institutions to evaluate their spending patterns and benchmark themselves against their peers.
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Statement Accreditation Department of Education Releases New Accreditation Regulations
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Campus Freedom Initiative

ACTA’s Campus Freedom Initiative™ equips institutions, trustees, and policymakers with the tools to strengthen a culture of open inquiry and civil discourse. Through practical guidance and resources grounded in the Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression, the initiative helps colleges and universities uphold their commitment to intellectual diversity and the free exchange of ideas.

ACTA Report Cards on Free Expression

ACTA’s Campus Freedom Initiative™ (CFI) has evaluated universities in several states against our Gold Standard for Freedom of Expression’™, a 20-point action plan for re-establishing higher education’s commitment to excellence and open inquiry. Our research highlights the universities’ strengths in protecting free expression and identifies areas they must work on to improve the student experience.

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Schools Evaluated

11/20

Avg. Gold Standard Score

Gold Standard School (Score of 18/20 or Higher)

ACTA’s Gold Standard for Campus Freedom

Below are actions you can take to build a culture of free expression on your campus.

Commit to a Culture of Free Expression

Adopt the Chicago Principles on Freedom of Expression or a similarly strong statement.
Establish clear expectations regarding free expression in student and faculty handbooks and codes of conduct.
Include a free expression unit in new-student orientations.
Protect the diversity of political viewpoints by adopting an institutional neutrality policy such as the Kalven Report.

Foster Civil Discourse

Sponsor campus debates that model civil discourse.
Promote free expression by encouraging the establishment of student groups devoted to free expression, civil discourse, or representing a plurality of perspectives
Establish policies that protect free expression rights on campus and set clear consequences for disruption of sponsored speakers, events, and classes.
Enforce policies that protect free expression rights on campus and apply clear consequences for disruption of sponsored speakers, events, and classes.

Cultivate Intellectual Diversity

Encourage presidents, provosts, and deans to model respect for a broad range of viewpoints.
Guarantee that viewpoint diversity is reflected in student life policies and practices.
Support academic centers dedicated to free inquiry and intellectual diversity.
Ensure faculty hiring, evaluation, and promotion processes are based on merit and make clear that the institution is open to intellectual diversity.

Break Down Barriers to Free Expression

Eliminate speech and IT policies that have a chilling effect on free expression.
Ensure that enforcement of Title VI, Title VII, and Title IX does not infringe on free expression.
Disband bias response teams.
Review student government policies to ensure viewpoint neutrality in student group recognition and funding.

Advance Leadership Accountability

Include commitments to free expression in mission statements, values statements, strategic plans, and other key institutional documents.
Include a commitment to free expression as a criterion in searches and evaluations for presidents, provosts, and deans.
Require free expression and viewpoint diversity training for administrative staff.
Conduct regular surveys or other quantitative studies of students and faculty to assess the state of free expression and intellectual diversity on campus.

Download ACTA’s Gold Standard Guide

RADIO FREE
CAMPUS
Podcast

Radio Free Campus is a show that brings you the major news, substantive interviews, and expert analysis from the front lines of campus freedom reform at America's colleges and universities. Our goals are simple: to increase free expression, expand diversity of thought, and promote civil discourse on our nation's college campuses. Whether you're a trustee, an alum, an administrator, a faculty member, or a student, tune in to learn how you can take action to expand freedom at your school.